Shana Collet stood in her evacuation T-shirt and tights near the church entrance framed by fire trucks and a giant American flag because it felt right.

Inside, Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Ronald Lee Helus lay in a casket in Calvary Community Church as thousands honored his life and the way it ended. He died trying to save lives at the Borderline Bar & Grill in the Nov. 7 mass shooting there.

If Collett had her real clothes, she would have been inside the church, praying with everyone else. But she was evacuated from her Lake Sherwood area home at 3:30 a.m. Friday and was staying at a hotel across the street from the church.

So near the end of a week that seemed endless, she stood with her son Garrett and hundreds of others waiting for Helus’ body to pass by on its way to a cemetery a few blocks away.

She thought of her grandson who would have been at the Borderline that night but had to get up early the next day. Four of his friends died that night.

She thought of Helus.

“He’s an absolute hero. He’s selfless. He walked into bullets to save others,” she said.

Helus’ body had come to the church in a procession two hours earlier. A bagpiper led the casket inside.

Outside, legions of media representatives huddled near giant television trucks. Weary, sad deputies worked security detail at the church’s entrance and answered questions about their friend.

“He was an unbelievable dude,” said sheriff’s Capt. Garo Kuredjian who knew Helus for 20 years and remembered the sense of humor marked by a smile that never left for long.

He was a cop’s cop, and the double-punch of the shooting and the tragedy meant his friends were still trying to deal with it all.

“It’s a tough thing. We haven’t had a chance to grieve,” Kuredjian said.

Aside from the media, law enforcement and an endless row of squad cars lined up three wide, Via Rocas in front of the church was mostly empty when the casket arrived.

Daniel Wood, who lives in Newbury Park but works near the church, wandered over and took pictures of the flags. The 63-year-old owner of a home health care business didn’t know Helus. He didn’t know any of the Borderline victims.

“Thousand Oaks strong,” he said, his voice catching and then stopping.

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Law enforcement personnel salute as the casket of Ventura County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Ron Helus is carried out after his memorial service at Calvary Community Church Thursday. He was buried at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park on Lindero Canyon Road. JUAN CARLO/THE STAR

Law enforcement personnel salute as the hearse carrying Ventura County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Ron Helus drives from his memorial service at the Calvary Community Church on Thursday. He was buried at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park on Lindero Canyon Road. JUAN CARLO/THE STAR

Law enforcement personnel salute as the casket of Ventura County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Ron Helus is driven from his memorial service at Calvary Community Church Thursday. He was later buried at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park on Lindero Canyon Road. JUAN CARLO/THE STAR

Law enforcement personnel walk out of Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village after the memorial service for Ventura County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Ron Helus memorial service. He was later buried at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park on Lindero Canyon Road. JUAN CARLO/THE STAR

A group of people pay their respects as the hearse carrying Ventura County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Ron Helus passes them as it leaves his memorial service on its way Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park on Lindero Canyon Road. JUAN CARLO/THE STAR

Law enforcement personnel salute as the casket of Ventura County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Ron Helus is driven from his memorial service at Calvary Community Church Thursday. He was later buried at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park on Lindero Canyon Road. JUAN CARLO/THE STAR

Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub addresses the crowd attending the memorial service for Ventura County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Ron Helus at Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village on Thursday. AL SEIB/AP POOL

Deputy Dan McLaughlin, right, holds hands with other deputies during a closing prayer of the memorial service for Ventura County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Ron Helus at Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village on Thursday. AL SEIB/AP POOL

Law enforcement personnel salute as the casket of Ventura County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Ron Helus is carried out after his memorial service at Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village on Thursday. MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ/AP

Eileen Mayfield, left, and Stefanie Moses hold a sign and an American flag at the funeral procession for Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Ron Helus at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village on Thursday. CHUCK KIRMAN/THE STAR

Officers stand at attention as the casket carrying the body of Ventura County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Ron Helus leaves his memorial service at Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village on Thursday. AL SEIB/AP POOL

An old family photo of Ventura County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Ron Helus with his wife Karen is shown during a video montage at Helus' memorial service at Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village on Thursday. AL SEIB/AP POOL

A old family photo of Ventura County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Ron Helus with his wife Karen and son Jordan is shown during a video montage at Calvary Community Church for his memorial service Thursday. AL SEIB/AP POOL

A police officer lowers his head as he waits for the funeral procession for Ventura County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Ron Helus at the Calvary Community Church on Thursday in Westlake Village. MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ/AP

A hearse carrying the casket of Ventura County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Ron Helus arrives at the Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village for his memorial service Thursday. BARBARA DAVIDSON/GETTY IMAGES

Officers stand at attention and salute as the casket carrying Ventura County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Ron Helus arrives for his memorial service at Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village on Thursday. JUAN CARLO/THE STAR

Officers from law enforcement agencies across the region line up outside Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village for the funeral services of Ventura County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Ron Helus. JUAN CARLO/THE STAR

The 22-year-old graduate student from California Lutheran University heard about the shooting hours after it happened and worried immediately about his friend, Justin Meek, who was a bouncer at the Borderline.

“I knew the kind of person he was,” he said, noting that Meek always helped people. “I had a gut feeling.”

Meek’s memorial service will be held Saturday at California Lutheran. Standsberry came to the procession, recording video like hundreds of others, because he felt that’s what Meek would have done if their places had been reversed.